1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pierced earrings and, more particularly, pertains to a configuration for an earring support and a pierced earring incorporating the novel support.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Pierced earrings have been in wide use throughout the world since antiquity. Typically, a pierced earring is comprised of a support which passes through the pierced opening of the wearer's earlobe, and an ornamental portion which is attached to or suspended from the support. The support may be either a straight post, in which form it is generally of a length sufficient to extend through the earlobe, and to receive a clasp at the back of the latter; or the support may be an ear wire, which may have a substantial length and sinuous or inverted hook shape, thus forming part of the ornamentation of the earring as a whole.
As is also well known, earring posts or ear wires of the type previously described are normally constructed of precious metal, such as silver or gold, so as to be hypoallergenic and thereby to minimize the danger of infection or contamination to the wearer. Not only are such precious metals hypoallergenic in and of themselves, but they are readily cleaned and disinfected without damage. Because of the desirability of having earrings with supports made from precious metals, and in view of the escalating costs of these materials, it is highly desirable to minimize the amount of precious metal used in constructing the support of the earring. In the case of an ear wire which is observable when worn, it is highly desirable that, while reducing the amount of precious metal used, an attractive shape should be maintained. However, it is essential that the earring support of either kind be strong enough to resist breaking, and thereby avoid the loss of the earring itself.
Generally, in the past, earring posts have been made with a solid cylindrical configuration of small diameter. Recently, it has been proposed to manufacture hollow earring posts for reducing the amount of precious metal thereon. One form of such hollow earring posts has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,582, to Mancini. A different type of hollow earring post has been proposed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 476,051, filed Mar. 17, 1983, and having a common assignee herewith. However, such hollow earring posts are relatively difficult to produce, and are susceptible to crushing or flattening when the wall thickness is reduced. Therefore, due to the high cost of the precious metals used in constructing earring posts or ear wires, it is desirable to provide other constructions for reducing the amount of metal used, while still providing relative ease of manufacture, as by extrusion or drawing, and high resistence to crushing or flattening.